Considering a Career in Project Management? Read This First

If you enjoy organizing and managing, procuring and leading, project management may well be a great career choice for you. However, you’re going to need some training first, so get ready to crack the books.

And if you’re the owner of a small business, keep reading. Project management training is ideal for CEO’s, because project managers and CEO’s face many of the same challenges.

There are two basic certifications for project managers. They are the Project Management Professional, or PMP certification, and the Agile Certified Practitioner, or ACP certification.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers both the PMP and ACP certifications. The PMI is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to develop standards, conduct and publish research, and provide accreditation in project management.

The PMP certification is involved with managing the specific tasks that relate to project management. On the other hand, ACP is focused toward getting familiar with agile principles and applying agile techniques as projects move through their paces. In this case, the term “agile” refers to a fast-moving process that focuses on customer value, real-world developments, and frequent team interaction.

You can obtain either certification at a PMP boot camp in San Jose, California. So let’s find out the difference between them so that you can decide which one is better for you.

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What Is the PMP Certification?

A PMP certification will qualify you to lead a project management team to complete high-end projects. This certification is suitable for candidates who are already experienced project managers. So if that describes you and you are looking to move ahead in your career, a PMP certification might be right for you.

A PMP certification will open the way for you to boost your career, face challenging tasks, get in touch with industry experts, and gain a lot of valuable experience. In short, it can help you make your career shine brighter than ever.

To be eligible for PMP certification, you need to have at least a high school diploma or an associate’s degree. However, a bachelor’s degree plus work experience is even better. If you’re a diploma-holder, you need to have at least 5 years worth of non-overlapping experience in which you worked as a project manager. Those who have a bachelor’s degree need to have at least 3 years of work experience. Also, you will need to have earned 35 hours of project management training, in the form of Professional Development Units, or PDU’s.

What Is the ACP Certification?

Software companies, in particular, lean toward a preference for the PMI-ACP certification for their project management needs. If you’re already familiar with the principles of the agile environment this could be the right certification for you.

An agile environment is one in which teams collaborate in a responsive way to solve and complete projects.

Someone with an ACP certification packs serious real-world experience. He or she is also familiar with how to apply agile methodologies to bring a project to successful completion.

Candidates who earn this certification need to maintain 30 PDU units every 3 years in order to maintain their ACP status.

The Chief Differences Between PMP and ACP Certifications

Professionals who hold PMP certifications have an edge over those who are ACP certified. That’s because the PMP certification process covers a broad range project management principles. In contrast, the ACP certification is solely focused on agile principles of project management. In other words, the ACP certification is a subset of the PMP.

Verdict

Fast-growing companies require multiple project managers, because they are prone to running several projects simultaneously. Therefore, certified PMP professionals are in high demand—and they generally command higher salaries than those who have ACP certifications.

On the other hand, industries that face multiple changes in a fast-paced environment often hire more ACP- than PMP-certified professionals.

About Asif Nazeer

My current sphere of interest is Internet Marketing - Worked for many years in finance and banking. I now consult for small businesses and starts ups. Also involved in venture capital for new companies.